1440

Texas, get ready! #SXSW 🤠 At 1440, we prioritize people and community but as AI continues transforming industries, how do we maintain this principle? Help get us on the stage at SXSW to showcase the use of AI in production processes, and how humans will always provide a pathway to growth and true creativity. Vote for “Not Another AI Panel: Human Connection is Still King” featuring agencies like Giant Spoon, Tom Brady’s Shadow Lion, artist Julia Powell and our very own CEO here: https://lnkd.in/e9VuChj6 #AI #AITechnology #media #PanelPicker

3,700,000+ subscribers later, this quote still guides every business decision we make at 1440. “There’s only one boss—the customer—she can fire everyone in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending her time/money elsewhere. If you don’t listen to your customer, someone else will.” -Sam Walton However, I was at a recent dinner with ~15 top digital media execs when I realized maybe everyone doesn’t always think of the customers first.  A question was asked at the dinner table, and we all answered it one by one: “If you had $500,000 to invest in your business right now, where would you put it?” ↳All of the focus around the table was on ad delivery, ad targeting optimizations, and cost-cutting initiatives. ↳I was shocked: The words “customer,” “reader,” and “product” weren’t mentioned by any of the other execs in attendance. Coming from the private equity world, I’ve seen dozens of companies implode, but never the companies that genuinely care for and deeply serve their customers. ↳When it was my turn to speak, I went in a different direction: “I’d invest the money in a better customer experience, in building a more optimal product that delights our readers.” As the media industry evolves, we must evolve with it. It sometimes feels like many media companies have forgotten this fundamental principle. We can't forget there are real people, our customers, on the other side of our platforms. If we’re not obsessively delivering value to them every day, they have dozens of other avenues to spend their time and resources on. This is why our team begs for feedback in each newsletter, personally reads every customer email and responds to most (feel free to reply to any 1440 email to reach me directly), consistently conducts audience surveys to gather insights and feedback, engages with our readers every day on our social media channels, and much more. If you had an extra $500,000 today, how would you invest it in your business?

Excited to announce 1440 has been named one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces for 2024. Selected from thousands of submissions, this recognition highlights our commitment to fostering a supportive and thriving workplace culture. Our team's dedication and passion have made this achievement possible. Thank you to Inc. for this honor and to our incredible team members whose feedback and contributions shape our success every day. Together, we continue to grow and innovate in delivering fact-driven knowledge to our intellectually curious readers. For a peek inside our culture, learn about our guiding principles here: https://lnkd.in/e9t5i6av #IncBestWorkplaces #CompanyCulture #EmployeeEngagement #Teamwork

1440 is thrilled to announce we’ve been recognized by Crain's Chicago Business as the number one fastest-growing company in Chicago in 2024. 🚀 According to Crain's 2024 Fast 50, these companies have shown remarkable growth through organic strategies, acquisitions, and expansive initiatives. We are proud of our team who curates our daily newsletter with 3.6M readers and a unique open rate of 60%. The winners this year achieved a median revenue growth of 505% over five years,with 1440 posting a 38,655% 5-year growth rate to take the #1 spot. Congratulations to all the companies driving innovation in Chicago's business landscape. Your dedication and success inspire us all! 🎉 https://lnkd.in/gBA4uEGX #ChicagoBusiness #CrainsFast50 #BusinessGrowth #Innovation

Before the day ends we’d like to also share a congratulations to our Social Media Marketing Team who has been named a finalist in the News and Media category for the prestigious Shorty Awards. This incredible achievement recognizes the outstanding creativity, innovation, and dedication of our team in producing exceptional content across digital and social platforms. At 1440, we strive to deliver engaging and impactful content to our audience, and this recognition reaffirms our commitment to excellence in the digital and social media landscape. Congratulations to our Social Media Marketing Team for this well-deserved honor! Your passion, creativity, and relentless pursuit of excellence have set a new standard in the industry. As we await the final results, send us your votes for the recognition of the Audience Honor: https://lnkd.in/dy3eskWT #ShortyAwards #Media #SocialMediaMarketing #DigitalMarketing

We are thrilled to announce that two outstanding members of our 1440 team have been honored as AdMonsters and AdExchanger's Top Women in Media & Ad Tech. Their dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment to excellence have not only elevated our brand but have also made a significant impact in the greater digital media and advertising community. This recognition is a testament to their leadership and innovative contributions. Congratulations Erika Burghardt and Lauren Mendoza-Routt on this well-deserved recognition! This achievement not only highlights their individual success but also reflects the collective efforts of our entire team. https://lnkd.in/gVhtgs5A #TopWomenInMedia #AdTechAwards #DigitalMedia #Advertising #Technology #WomenInLeadership

1440’s secret to delivering world-class media products to a rapidly growing audience of intellectually curious readers? Keeping the brightest colleagues in media happy and engaged. One of the best ways to do so in a remote-first workforce? Company offsites. Here at 1440, we’ve hosted six offsites, all nominated and voted on by our team. Our team has visited Key West, Nantucket, San Juan PR, and Charleston. We continue to sharpen our approach to optimizing these critical, culture-building meetups with our team's help. Below are 1440’s top principles/strategies we’ve learned to host world-class offsites that drive business results and build lasting connections: Time to build connections, and have some fun: The more offsites we complete, the more we realize time is best spent building real-world connections, not in meetings all day. We host fun dinners, provide ample connection-building time, and partake in excursions. Past excursions have included snorkeling, whale watching, rainforest tours, and key lime pie-tasting contests. Celebrate wins: Our lean and mean team accomplishes so much; we want to step back and reflect on all the terrific, impactful work. We start each offsite by looking back at all we’ve accomplished since our last offsite. Focus on strategy: During the few meetings we have (held every other day), we want to focus almost exclusively on forward-thinking strategy while learning from the past. This time is precious and shouldn’t be spent regurgitating OKRs. To enable this, our larger team is “in the weeds” together consistently each week, allowing us to think about the bigger picture at offsites. Team check-in: We host an open discussion: what else we can do to improve our colleagues’ lives and what our future hiring plans look like. We seek feedback on ideas for new benefits, workflows, anything that will make our colleagues happy/healthy. Discuss industry/macro trends: Dedicate time to discussing external forces impacting our business: at our last offsite, we talked through the past, present, and future of AI. By talking through these trends, we can figure out how to best position the company in a rapidly changing environment. Company feedback loop: Everyone on our team has the opportunity to ask any questions about their roles, the company, the vision, and beyond. 1440’s Principles: We discuss refinements to our company’s principles to confirm we’re all aligned on how we make decisions and come to work each day. We complete this exercise at every offsite. Relax and restore: During our summer offsites (where significant others can join), we provide a food and wellness stipend and one day completely free of meetings and dinners, so our team can explore and recharge with their significant others. Offsites are the single best investment we make as a remote-first organization, bar none. Do you host regular offsites? If so, what works for you? If not, what’s holding you back? #companyculture #startups #teambuilding

1440 is proud to announce our second consecutive year ranking on Inc. Magazine’s Regional List of fastest-growing private companies in the Midwest. Learn about how we’re shaping the industry with our daily newsletter reaching over 3 million readers daily. https://lnkd.in/djW-NJ7q #incregionals #media #newsletter #1440

1440 ranked 79th on the Inc. Magazine 5000 fastest-growing companies list. Our lean and mean team is in a handful of companies producing $1 million+ revenue per employee, and we haven’t parted with an employee in three years. Below are 1440’s top 16 principles and strategies we’ve learned to build a successful, durable team. This is a never-ending, always-evolving work in progress.  What strategies and principles do you use to build company culture? Any insights to offer, or guidance on strategies our team should consider? #companyculture #media #peoplefirst

1440 grew from 78 to over 3.3 million subscribers in ~6 years. They also have a monthly influx of 200K+ new subscribers. Tim Huelskamp, the co-founder and CEO of 1440, shared the growth strategies they use on different list sizes. He also highlights that hiring Erika Burghardt as Head of Growth became a game changer for 1440, enabling continuous growth. "I wish we would have met Erika earlier. The co-founders learned a ton experimenting (for which we’re grateful) but I’ve learned to scale companies truly, you need to hire brilliant people and generally “get out of their way”. says Tim. 👇 Here is the full breakdown of 1440's growth. To read our full interview, visit https://lnkd.in/gar2zdBr.